Oct. 1

October 1, 2008pottersp

Visual Rhetoric

The Miami Seal

The seal is a place that is forbidden to step on. If you step on it, the idea is that you will fail your next exam. The person who made this up (ethos) did a good job persuading everyone because we all avoid it as we walk through campus. This is directed towards/the audience is the students of Miami University. The inventor of this is unknown but is well respected because no one steps on the seal. The inventor knew that nobody wants to fail an exam and superstition is present in the lives of many people. The students continue to avoid it because the person (pathos), has developed a bond between him and the students (ethos). The writer doesn’t have much logic or reason behind this, yet, whether we believe in it or not, we do not step on the seal. This is clearly meant to persuade. The claim is simply, don’t step on the seal. The support is that the consequence is you will fail your next exam. And the warrant, or what is assumed, is that nobody wants to fail an exam and its understood that many students will pass through this place many times a day or throughout the week.